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The Persona titles in the Megami Tensei franchise are arguably the most popular entries in the iconic JRPG series. The latest installment, Persona 5, has singlehandedly managed to elevate the franchise to mainstream status since its debut on the PlayStation 4 in 2016.
With Persona 5 Royal, released later in 2019, developer ATLUS enriched the already hefty experience with more quality content for players.
The game is now finally headed to all major gaming systems very soon, which is also a first for the traditionally PlayStation-exclusive series. With that said, does Persona 5 Royal make this historical transition to new platforms intact?
Note that given the narrative-heavy nature of Persona 5 Royal, this review contains no story spoilers.
Persona 5 Royal: The Phantom Thieves strike again
Persona 5 Royal takes place in modern-day Tokyo, where players control a high-school student dubbed the Joker. After falling victim to false accusations of assault, he was put on probation and transferred to a new school called Shujin Academy.
His reality is flipped upside down after he finds himself in a supernatural dimension called the Metaverse and awakens to an inherent power known as Persona, which is a manifestation of the individual's psyche in the form of mythological beings and deities.
Things further snowballed after the Joker realized that he could band together with other students possessing similar powers and fight the malicious intent of crooked adults. Cue the Phantom Thieves, a vigilante group that uses the power of Personas to infiltrate the Metaverse and take down corrupted creations of the subconscious known as Palaces.
This is where the core dungeon-crawling comes into play; players storm into these Palaces, beat up enemies known as Shadows, and alter the morality of the Palace owner in reality so they can confess to their crimes.
This is a lot to take in for sure, but the MegaTen series has always been big on the occult and philosophical aspects. Persona 5 Royal throws in heavy social subject matter like sexual assault, trauma, suicide, and other topics.
This is also where the social sim element comes in, as players navigate the daily life of a high-schooler; they will be hanging out with friends, attending lectures, undertaking part-time jobs, and doing all sorts of things to pass the time in-between battles.
Leading a double life
Let's cover the more laid-back social aspect of Persona 5 Royal first. It features a full 3D environment for exploration, both in the real world and the Metaverse. The game keeps track of days via an in-game calendar, and players will have a host of activities to engage in depending on the day and progress made. A lot of time will be spent at the academy as Joker and the gang face student life's daily ups and downs as they attend classes and strengthen their bond.
As expected, the game's pacing is generally slow, so this is most definitely not a game for everyone. Players can only do a set number of activities each day. To top it off, players will receive no handholding regarding what activities they can pursue in a day.
Thus, strategic planning, at times days in advance, is needed to ensure all targets are met satisfactorily. These various activities can help raise one or sometimes more of Joker's stats: Guts, Proficiency, Kindness, Charm, and Knowledge.
Should you spend time studying and reading to raise Knowledge or work part-time to raise Kindness? Maybe hang out with a buddy to get to know them better? The latter, in particular, is a key element of Persona 5 Royal and can be progression gated depending on social stats.
Throughout the course of the year, Joker will establish relationships with certain people, and these bonds are known as Confidants. Like Social Links from previous games, spending time with an individual will cause the Confidant to gain a rank and thus become more powerful.
This has a two-fold effect of getting to know that person better, and higher ranks also grant perks in battle. Additionally, deeper Confidant bonds result in more powerful bonuses for Personas associated with their Arcana. Anyone familiar with tarot cards will recognize these Arcanas, which are classes or races to which each recruitable Persona can belong (more on this later).
This is also where the game shines, as each individual has their own inner demons to fight against. These people are also unique in their personality and profession, ranging from partners-in-crime like the rowdy classmate Ryuji Sakamoto or curious talking cat Morgana to a seemingly shady doctor at the local clinic. Regardless, lending them a shoulder to cry on, an attentive ear, or a supportive pat on the back goes a long way in gaining their trust.
This is needed because the entire theme of Persona 5 Royal is rebellion, after all. There is a constant struggle, an "us vs. them" scenario, as the Phantom Thieves fight against injustice stalking out in the wild. But players will have to get their hands dirty to change the status quo and bring evildoers to light.
Infiltrate the Palace
In addition to interesting people, Joker will also encounter unsavory folks. These form the various antagonists featured throughout the game, and each of them erects a Palace dedicated to their greedy desires and perverse wants. A Palace, to put it simply, is a large dungeon with multiple floors and various mechanics. The goal is to get the Treasure located at the heart of each dungeon to initiate a change of heart within the Palace owner.
Each Palace is visually distinct, with themes and aesthetics reflecting the ruler's mental state. There are also light puzzles, platforming sections, and dungeon-specific elements to partake in as players traverse the environment. Collectibles include treasure crates placed around the map that grant items and equipment, as well as hidden ones in the form of certain seeds.
These dungeons will crawl with Shadows - these unruly entities will only heed the command of the Palace ruler and will do everything in their power to stop the Phantom Thieves. Given the sneaky nature of the Phantom Thieves, they can stealth their way through areas and ambush foes. This transitions to the battle arena, which is where the real fun begins.
Fight for your life
Like previous games in the series, combat is party-based and turn-based. Like many monster-catching RPGs, elemental weaknesses and advantages govern the tide of battle. As expected, each Persona (and Shadow) may have different affinities to each element. With almost a dozen different element types to contend with, players must strategize and come up with setups to counter all sorts of scenarios.
In addition to attack spells like Agi (Fire) and Bufu (Ice), buffs and support also form the part-and-parcel of trickier encounters. Lowering enemies' defense so your attacks can do a bit more damage or putting them to sleep is just as important as using the healing spell Media to keep your team standing despite powerful blows. Consumable items can also help you gain a leg up while staying on top of your equipment game is necessary for survival.
Exploiting enemy weaknesses is key to winning as this will stun enemies, granting an extra turn to the exploiter - this is known as 1 More. Be wary since enemies can return the favor.
However, Persona 5 Royal makes things a bit easier with the new mechanics. These include the Baton Pass and Showtime; the former allows players to forego their 1 More and pass it on to a party member, enhancing their stats. The latter, meanwhile, allows the performing of combination attacks between different party members.
Downing all enemies allows an All-Out Attack, where all party members gang up on the targets. But sometimes, a Shadow may beg for mercy or try to speak out of the situation. Yes, ATLUS has re-introduced the negotiation system from the older entries, allowing players to communicate with Shadows.
This can have three outcomes:
- Chance to gain target Shadow as a Persona
- Chance to gain an item
- Chance to gain money
This adds a nice and rewarding alternative rather than merely mindless fights as players must respond appropriately depending on the Shadow's personality.
Besides handcrafted dungeons, there is another randomly generated one called Mementos. It is optional but a recommended option for grinding experience and Personas for fusion. Yes, players can combine two (or more) Personas to create an entirely new one, which is often more powerful. This can be done by accessing the Velvet Room, a mainstay feature of all Persona games.
It is a crucial aspect of the gameplay. Players must be on top of their game with regular fusions and skill setups to ensure successful encounters against tough enemies, including Palace bosses.
These one-time stand-offs against the Shadow of the Palace rulers will often demand more thought than normal encounters, as they feature new mechanics not present otherwise. All in all, boss fights are absolutely the highlight and a delightful culmination of the combat experience - all enhanced by the style and tactics on display.
What's new and what's wrong?
In terms of what's new, honestly, there's nothing. Persona 5 Royal is a complete and definitive experience. So while players are not missing out on anything, nothing fresh has been added for this re-release either.
As with the original Royal, the key differences between this game and the original Persona 5 boil down to a couple of new characters (including a new party member), a new semester, and a new area to explore.
All DLC content is accounted for, including items and costumes that can alter battle OST (based on various ATLUS games) and even Persona not available in-game (like those from older games, e.g., Orpheus and Izanagi).
As for what's wrong with the game, there is one issue. Persona 5 Royal is undoubtedly a large title. As such, it is hard for players not to end up in a cycle of repetition. This is a particular problem when scaling Palaces.
Players do not have control over how the days proceed, so sometimes the pacing can feel drawn out. Players are thrust into incessant filler cutscenes with characters repeating tired narrative beats or constant pop-ups about visiting Palaces and text messages from allies that don't add much to the story.
Graphics, sound, and performance
Any player would notice the first and most striking aspect of Persona 5 Royal is its stylish visuals. ATLUS leaves no stone unturned with this element, as each inch of the UI and menu is meticulously handcrafted, popping out at the player.
Even loading screen transitions when out exploring Tokyo involve crowds of passersby moving across the screen. Core visuals are cel-shaded with an anime aesthetic, as is expected from the series. Overall, the game is a fiesta of color and chaos, and I'm here for it.
On the tech side of things, this is virtually the port of a PlayStation 4 rendition with no extra bells or whistles to speak of - or at least none that stand out at the very least. Furthermore, this is fundamentally a PlayStation 3 game, as the original Persona 5 (which Royal expands upon) was also released on Sony's 7th gen console.
As such, fans worried about a botched PC port can rest easy; the game has zero issues running at a locked 60 FPS at 1080p and max settings, even on humble setups.
The downside is that there are not many graphics settings to play around with. However, the music is absolutely phenomenal, as is the norm with ATLUS JRPGs. Some may lament tweaked tracks compared to the original game (like Last Surprise being replaced with Take Over for battles), but it's hard to dislike the masterfully crafted OST as a whole. There are no complaints here, and it is good to see ports making the transition intact.
In conclusion
Persona 5 Royal is, at its core, a game over half a decade old now. Yet the game has never shone as brightly before, thanks to this excellent conversion by ATLUS.
It's got it all:
- Engrossing narrative
- Eye-catching visuals
- Solid combat
- Varied dungeon exploration
- Freedom of choice both with regards to RPG and the social sim elements
Despite a sense of fatigue and repetition when it comes down to dungeon crawling, the pros most certainly make up for this pet peeve of mine.
There are no two ways about this: Persona 5 Royal is a worthy pickup for anyone remotely interested in RPGs. Those who have already experienced this enhanced journey of the Phantom Thieves on PlayStation 4 will find little reason for double dipping.
Newcomers, i.e., Xbox, Nintendo, and PC players, are in for a treat: this is a stylishly ageless JRPG journey that is still being talked about to this day and will continue for years to come.
Persona 5 Royal
Reviewed on: PC (Review Code provided by SEGA)
Platform(s): PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
Developer(s): ATLUS
Publishers(s): SEGA
Release date: October 21, 2022
